Friends
by ciTohCysP
Summary: "Friends... Like a partnership based on favors?" O'malley asked skeptically. "No, more like people who trust each other and care about each other." Doc explained, trying to put it in a way the embodiment of hate and anger could understand. "Fool! What makes you think I trust and care about you!" O'malley sneered at the purple medic. (WARNING: Slight spoilers and AU)


**Disclaimer: I does not own**

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

**Author's Notes**

"Well it's not _my _fault he blew up, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," The echoey voice came from the grey hologram perched on his host's shoulder, "As in he was standing in front of my rocket launcher when I pulled the trigger."

"O'malley, we talked about this," The purple medic said in a patronizing tone as though he were talking to a small child rather than a murderous AI, "What do you do when you get angry?"

"I blow them up," He responded with a dark laugh, ignoring the others drilled over attempt at anger management.

Doc continued on, brushing aside the blood curtling laugh, "No, we take deep breaths and count to ten."

"Count to ten! What are we, six!" O'malley spat accidentally taking on Doc's annoying habit of referring to themselves as we.

"One… Two…" Doc starting counting up as soon as O'malley's temper began to flare up.

O'malley was silent as Doc continued to count, his annoyance only rising with each number that was supposed to be calming him down and wished for what seemed like the billionth time that someone, -_anyone_- would open up a radio channel that he could latch onto. He would take anyone over this blabbering idiot with his ridiculous antics and his pathetically cheery demeanor.

"Three… Four…"

Actually, now that he thought about it, why was he still in Doc's body? There had been plenty of times when the opportunity had arisen to jump to someone else, and even when he did, he'd always up back with Doc in the end.

"Five… Six…"

Sharing a mind with Caboose had been… Scarring to say the least, even to a deranged AI, so it made sense that he left him, and later when he infected Agent Florida -or Butch Flowers as he was calling himself- being in control of a dead body was just plain creepy.

"Seven…"

Then that time with Grif, and Simmons, and Sarge, and Donut, every single time something had been…off. Everything felt just plain wrong, the only people he had ever been comfortable in were Tex, Church… And Doc.

"Eight…"

Tex he could understand, she was violent, ruthless, and very much like himself, Church began to made sense once they had discovered he was the Alpha, they belonged together, as cheesy as that sounds, but Doc… 'Why do I feel so damn comfortable around the purple bastard!'

"Nine…"

'He is annoying beyond belief, all he ever does is talk about peace and bullshit medical terms…And yet if it wasn't for him, I would have died along with the rest of the AI's in the blast from the EMP.'

Back at Command he had the sense to ditch the Meta and latch onto the Puma's radio signature -like Gamma did with Sheila- as soon as he realised what Agent Washington was planning. He rode with the simulation soldiers until they reached Valhalla where Doc found him weak and crippled from the close call with the EMP. Doc took pity on him and give him a chance to redeem himself, he knew O'malley wouldn't last much longer without a stable connection to latch onto and offered himself as they host yet again.

"And ten! There, feel better?" Doc finished but O'malley didn't say anything, too deep in thought to register Doc's words.

Doc had covered up for him again and again whenever he went and blew something -or some_one-_ up, like just this morning when he had come across a discarded rocket launcher in front of red base on one of their weekly check ups. He had instantly picked it up out of habit and tried to blow a hole in the closest person besides himself. Grif. Thankfully Doc had taken over their shared body at the last second and managed to derail the weapon slightly, causing it to strike the ground instead. He tied to come up with a buyable excuse for the odd behavior but Sarge even encouraged it saying, "Nice going Doc, but next time try 'n get a headshot!"

"O'malley?" He asked, frowning slightly at his friend's unusual lack of response, "Are you there?"

Doc's concerned tone snapped him back to reality and he quickly came up with a sharp response, hoping to deter any suspicion he had, "Of course I'm here, you idiot! Where else would I have possibly gone?"

O'malley tried to focus on his and Doc's conversation but the nagging memory and the troublesome thoughts that came with it just kept coming back to the forefront of his mind.

'He could have easily let me die… But instead he risked his own life by letting me live and even further_ willingly allowing me to infect him_,' There was nothing for him to gain from this, and yet he continues to do it anyways. If anyone else found out Doc would surely be killed for keeping the demonic Omega AI alive.

"O'malley, what's the matter?" Doc tried again trying to coax an honest response from the small grey armored figure.

O'malley didn't respond as thoughts and unanswered questions swirled around and around inside his mind like they were trapped in a vortex.

Since the rest of the simulations troopers didn't know he was still around the radio channels were open every once in a while, and even if jumping to someone else would alert everyone that he was still alive, and possibly even end up with him dead in the end, wasn't that better than wasting away the rest of his days with the idiot of a medic… Right?

"...Dufresne," O'malley said at length, the use of Doc's real name catching is focus and curiosity, "Why did you let me live?"

Doc seemed rather shocked by the unexpected question, "What do you mean?"

"When you discovered me you could have warned the others, or even just walked away and left me there, but you didn't," He said uncharacteristically, giving voice to his thoughts, "Why?"

Doc's face broke out into a happy smile as he realised what the AI was asking and he replied happily, "Well friends don't let friends just die, silly! I had to save you!"

"Friends! You fool! Who ever said we were friends!" O'malley yelled mostly out of annoyance when he didn't get the answer he was looking for.

"Of course were friends, O'malley," Doc said in the same joyous tone that O'malley hated.

"Friends," He said darkly, "We are not _friends_."

"Being friends isn't such a bad thing," Doc said, still smiling as O'malley sneered at him, trying to put it into terms the literal embodiment of hate and anger could understand, "Friends help each other out, so I save your life and someday, you have to return the favor!"

Doc wasn't really pleased with his explanation but O'malley was beginning to understand so it was good enough.

"…Friends," He said slowly, rolling the world around in his mouth. It tasted bitter and unwelcoming to him, "Like a partnership based on favors."

Doc frowned a bit but it was still progress, no matter how twisted, "No...More like, people who trust each other and will do things for the other because they care about them."

"And what makes you think I _trust_ you and _care_ about you?" He said bitterly at the new explanation.

"Well I did save your life, so you owe me your trust," Doc said hopefully.

O'malley paused and his projection flickered for a moment as he considered this, 'Friends? With the purple moron?'

Doc waited as he pondered over the thought and metaphorically crossed his fingers and hoped for the best out of the little grey man who stood on his shoulder, "I trust you, and you owe your trust to me, so doesn't that make us friends?"

"This doesn't make you any less of a fool," O'malley said curtly.

"I'll take that as a yes!" He filled in the blank for him, "Now come on, we've gotta finish the check ups, I think Donut is next!"

The AI let out an audible groan as the purple armored medic stood up and began the short trek to the red base from their hiding spot in the shadows of the cliff. O'malley retreated and his holographic image flickered and disappeared but his thoughts still lingered on the topic of _friends_.

'Maybe being friends isn't such a bad thing after all…' He pondered with a grin on his nonexistent face, 'And maybe we were friends before I even realized it.'

Doc began humming and he suppressed the incredibly overwhelming urge to duct tape their mouth shut. 'There I go again,' He scolded himself, 'It's not _our _mouth, it's _his_ mouth.'

He figured if being _friends_ meant he had to be _friendly_ then it was going to take some getting used to. For now he would consider their relationship purely as a partnership, him inhabiting Doc's body and that was all.

But maybe… Just maybe…

He said the word again, '_Friends_.'

Maybe that word wasn't as bitter and uninviting as it had first seemed.

**One-Shot? Maybe a Two-Shot? You decide! ^-^**

**I had some free time this weekend and I decided it wasn't enough to finish a chapter of Of Keronians and Pekoponians plus I finally got to season 11 of Red vs Blue so I decided to write this one shot instead! *dodges tomatoes* ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! I'M SORRY! I promise I will work on Chapter 12 as soon as I get more free time but I have to do a lot of studying so I can pass all my classes! …And a lot of Red vs Blue to catch up on. *dodges chair* I SAID I WAS SORRY ALRIGHT!?**

**I love you guys so much and it feels great to be writing again! So please Favorite if you like the story and don't forget to leave a Review!**


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